Vengeful Spirits
by Skyress1
Summary: [Details inside, so far making tweaks and writing up the next chapter. For those who are interested. Renamed from Pitch's Revenge to Vengeful Spirits.]
1. Synopsis, Disclaimer, Dedications & Chps

**Dedications, Current Chapters, Synopsis & Disclaimers**

Synopsis

 _It begins where it has ended, an unkept promise of revenge, waiting to be fulfilled._

 _It used to be belief first._

 _Now it is children._

 _Next it is spirits._

 _The question is, how many have suffered, and how many will?_

 _It has been ten years since the nightmare war. Ten years since Jack Frost has met his first believer. Ten years since Pitch Black has yet again lost all his. But peace is not forever and the dark will not forever remain just in the shadows. And with it, come the darker spirits, those longing for revenge. Because Pitch will not stand idly by to watch the Guardians wallow in glory. Though nor will the others. One by one, more spirits starved of their revenge surface, to take what they deem as theirs. Who will be the one to truly get revenge though?_

 _Who holds the end?_

If you know the rules of fanfiction and the basic respect code and know my rules, you may skip this page, unless you wish to have extra information. Otherwise, enjoy the story and feel free to chip in, so long as you take in acknowledgement that I do not take flames, or sermons... otherwise, anything goes, really, in terms of reviews.

Warnings and Disclaimers - Please Read and Follow

I, unfortunately, do _not_ own Rise of the Guardians, nor any of their characters. Therefore this work is to be viewed as only a work of fanfiction and not canon. However, the plot or ideas are for the most part all mine, with inspirations coming from places I had sadly forgotten. So please do not freely steal the plot, nor characters without asking, or giving credit where credit is due. Ideas are welcomed, but flames are not. Only constructive criticism and only where it is needed, or positive reviews will be accepted and the rest ignored unless they are ideas, or wishes, but I cannot promise the inclusion of your ideas. Also, I have noticed that people come to stories to preach their beliefs and whilst opinion of characters is welcomed, sermons and bible, Torah or other religious teachings are to be taken elsewhere. Thank you for reading this.

This is also an ongoing work that needs fixing and I recognise that. So please be patient and if you notice errors, it would be highly appreciated if you would inform me of them. After all, this is also a way of me improving on my writing techniques.

Current Chapters

Prologue - One Page, 327 Words, Rated T

The Vanishings - 6 Pages, 2540 words, Rated T

Eerie Similarities - 6 pages, 3225 words, Rated T

 _To Be Continued._

Dedication

 _To all those that stuck by and more so to those who were nice and brave enough to say they care about this story. This includes a certain anonymous reader and FrozenTinkerbellPotter-Lover15, to both of which I am grateful._


	2. Prologue

**Pitch's Revenge**

 **Prologue**

The wind whispered in the night, swaying the topmost branches of pine trees. Peering from above, moon shone through a thin layer of wispy, silver clouds, highlighting the silver-green firs below. It was a peaceful night, silent and beautiful, none seemed to disturb the silence of the night.

Yet, not all seemed to appreciate the beauty of that night. A tall, lanky creature who seemed to come out of the shadows, cloaked in black, with a stone-faced expression, stood in the forest of trees, looking up to the moon above. His gaze quickly changed, seeming betrayed and hateful, before morphing back into that emotionless stare from before.

"If you think this is over, you are sorely mistaken, old _friend_ ," the creature hissed through sharp teeth, up at the inanimate object. The moon, being the motionless object it is considered to be, did not even bother replying, as though doing so to spite his opponent.

"You think you can defeat me? Destroy me? You think I will stay hidden from your precious little children, invisible and weak?!" the creature ranted on. Then, he lowered his voice to a low, foreshadowing murmur, "then you are wrong. And your precious little children will pay for what you have done."

As the last of his words escaped his darkened lips, a darkly coloured sand appeared from out of nowhere, rapidly turning into a whirlwind of malevolence as it swerved in fast motion around its creator. Faster than the eye could blink, the strange material seemed to vanish out of existence. And with it, the _creature_ that had lurked in the shadows of the night, vanished in the very same, mysterious way.

Silence once more took over, though the wind seemed to cease. The temperature had dropped. And thick, grey wisps veiled the moon from sight. As if it no longer wished to see the happening on the planet it had been watching for so long.


	3. The Vanishings

**Pitch's Revenge**

 **Chapter 1**

 **The Vanishings**

It had been a decade since the Nightmare War. As it stood, much of Earth was still at peace, no worried to be had. At first glance, everything appeared to be fine.

Well, almost everything. In Jack's eyes, the only problem lay in the fact that Jamie had grown a lot older since then. At the age of twenty, attending college and seemingly excelling in the subject of technology, Jamie was clearly doing great in life. As unfortunate being in his home town only over the holidays was to Jack, that wasn't the problem. However, what was the problem was that his belief was slowly dissipating. Yes, he could have expected that. After all, Jamie had a life of his own and adults very rarely believed in spirits. This didn't make it any easier for Jack to see doubt starting to grow in his first believer's mind, telling him that perhaps all those spirits were only part of his imagination. It seemed that soon, Jamie might stop believing in Jack altogether.

"He's growing up. There is a time in every child's life when they need to face the world out of the one they've been living in. And we can't help them, Jack. Sometimes, you just have to let them help themselves, to forget," Toothiana had said to him at least a dozen times in the past two years. She was right of course, but it wasn't as though she had taken it any better.

"Cheer up, mate. You got yourself plenty of other kids to believe in ya, no need to mope around. You're the spirit of Fun, not the blimin' spirit of misery," Bunny had tried, not so long ago. For a while, it had worked, but lasted only briefly, before the sadness crawled back.

Jack decided to pay Jamie a visit. _'Now way I'm leaving Jamie.'_ Landing in the garden of Jamie's old house, he waited for the auburn-haired man to come out. Along with Pippa, he eventually did, although he failed to spot Jack. So the winter spirit decided to call on him. Nothing. Maybe a snowball would do? He threw one, managing to his Jamie in the forehead.

"Whoever that was, cut it out!" Jamie muttered grumpily, looking around. With his suspicions concerning the female at his side, he turned towards Pippa with an unamused expression on his face. A face which too betrayed his age and the changes that had occured. To the spirit of Winter, it seemed hard to believe that just a while ago, this had been just a boy and like any boy, Jamie had loved having fun and messing around in the snow. That trick should have worked.

Instead it left a frown of Jack's face.

Pippa smiled at Jamie, unpertrubed by his sudden change in behaviour. 'Well, atleast someone was left unafflicted by the Grinch syndrome,' Jack joked bitterly for himself, watching where this would lead.

"Come on, Jamie, you used to love snowball fights!" Pippa encouraged him, gesturing to the feshly laden snow. Jamie's only reaction was to frown. To no surprise, Jack was shocked when he heard the next man's next words.

"Yeah and I also used to believe in Santa Claus. All snow and ice does is kill," Jamie snapped. Pippa winced.

"Look, Jamie. I know what happened to your mother and I know that it was a terrible thing to happen, but just because of what happened you don't have to hang on to your anger. And you don't have to hate everything about winter just because it coincidentally was the season of your mother's death. Enjoy it, don't hate it. You've got to move on," Pippa tried.

Instead of listening to his friend, however, Jamie just pushed her away with his arms and walked off. Behind him, a lonely set of footsteps began to form, leading out of the garden. Where he was going was anyone's guess, and the source of Jack's misery. Away. His first believer, was no longer here. Not really.

Pippa looked back to were Jack was, with a remorseful smile. "I'm sorry you had to see him like that, but..." she muttered, still looking in his direction.

The winter spirit perked up, standing straighter now, as he looked back at the brunnette female. Could it be...?

"You can still...?"

"Yeah, sure can," she assured him softly. She let out a sigh. "It wasn't your fault, I know that... it's just that... maybe if his mother hadn't died..."

Jack gave her a quizzical look. "When did that happen?" he asked her.

"Actually, just a month ago. I'm not sure why you haven't heard about that accident, but she died in a car crash. Apparently her car slid on ice as she was about to turn. It got out of control and crashed into a van that was coming in her direction. Died immediately," she answered, looking down at the snow. A shiver passed down her spine. She would never forget that look on Jamie's face when he had learned about his mother's death.

"Oh..." Jack said, feeling rather awkward. Maybe he should have just stayed silent. It really did seem as though he was the spirit of misery right now and not the cheerful, mischievous, spirt of Fun that he used to be.

"I - I should go now. I have work to do and then I need to write an essay for tomorrow," Pippa excused herself, before walking off in the direction of her home.

"On earth?! What do you mean, she didn't return from school?" Pippa's mother questioned her daughter, as Pippa tried to explain what had happened. No one could mistake the startled look on her face. "Lucy would never..."

"Look, mum, I'm not crazy, or anything. I came up to Lucy's class and when I arrived, the teacher had said she had left already. I tried to find her, but she wasn't anywhere. Not even by the pond. So then, I tried to call Lucy's mother, but she told me she hadn't seen her either," Pippa explained, trying to stay calm. Oh, this was not good.

She had originally been asked to look after Lucy whilst her mother was working, but when she went to pick her up from school, she could not find the child anywhere. As though she had simply vanished into thin air. Pippa immediately feared the worst. After all, where could a five year old have disappeared? All alone, anything could have happened to her. She could be in danger.

Pippa's mother sighed, shaking her head in frustration. "Alright, you go and search outdoors again and I will call some of the people around here to see if they haven't seen her," she offered. Pippa quickly nodded her head before setting out once again in the dark of the night.

And yet, despite her best efforts, the darkness, mist and wind gave no clue as to where Lucy could be, nor did the street lights, or the people walking through the streets.

She walked up to the pond. As always, it was deserted and devoid of life. After all, the only person who came here for most part, was Jack. At night, it looked rather eerie and lifeless, especially with the ice covering the pond's surface. And of course, who could forget the tales of drowning that still ran through this town, haunting every child's mind. The cold wind hit her, making her supress another shiver. The branches rustled, in an unsettling manner. It forced a flinch out of Pippa at the thought of what creatures could lurk here.

"Lucy," she called to the forest behind the pond in a meek voice. The adult's arms were placed at her chest, subconsciously defending her from the sudden draft of cold air that managed to get beneath her skin.

She blinked owlishly, shivering from the cold as she watched the forest at the other side of the pond. It looked almost forbidden, with a thin layer of mist on the edge of it, floating just above ground level. She felt reluctant to enter it, but at the thought of Lucy in danger, she forced herself to go on.

In her childhood, she was nervous about going anywhere near that forest, for the fictional monsters that were said to hide here. In her mind, it was about as forbidden as hell and just as perilous. Not that she had ever gotten over this childish fear. Yet she didn't quite believe that those monsters hid under beds and gave nightmares to children. Not any more. She knew that there was worse that lurked in the darkness, in the night. And this world had a lot of monsters that were much worse than the terrors of her childhood.

As she stepped inside the forest, Pippa saw a flickering, golden light in the darkness, hovering just above the ground. It looked so entrancing, so beautiful. Like the flame of a candle, floaring just above the surface. The vision was followed on by an unearthly, detached voice, as smooth as silk, it's voice like a lullaby.

" _Children, children, come to play,_

 _In this forest you can stay."_

Pippa could not help but wonder where that voice, albeit a little creepy, came from. It lured her attention, so soft and quiet. Her eyes grew wide, as she took a step forward. She wanted to hear more. And she did. A continous repeat of those words soon made her halt in her steps though. Something in her mind had clicked, and she momentarily froze. Pippa had realised the meaning of those words. At first, she thought it was meant to be a cheerful rhyme, but hearing those words again, she knew it was anything but. Had she been a child, she would not be able to resist it. Which meant that if Lucy had heard it...

For the first time in a while, she was glad to be an adult, with the sense of one.

She gasped, realising that whoever had sung that song, had created those lights. Wide-eyed, she turned around and dashed back. The grass lay matted behind her, as her shoes dug into the ground. She wasted little time on getting back. Back to her house. Away from that... that thing. The thing lurking in that forest. That was all her mind could process.

When she finally reached the doorstep, she opened the door quickly, slamming them behind her, heart beating. Leaning against the door, she fought for her breath.

"Lights... forest.. voices," she immediately cried out, trying to take a deep breath and calm down.

He mother, who had just been on the phone, immediately looked up. Seeing her daughter standing there, frightened as though she had seen a ghost, she placed the phone down. Blinking, she asked her daughter to repeat what she had just said.

"I... went to the pond to see whether or not she was there. There- there were weird lights. F-floating lights... V-voices. Calling to me. Th-they began singing. B-but I don't know how. No one else was there. They... they were trying to lure me in..."

Her mother looked at her as though she were mad. "Nonsense, you probably were too tired to think properly. Your mind made that up," she said, having none of her daughter's nonsense. "Besides, you've always been afraid of forests. No surprise there, honey. Probably a figment of yoru imagination, created by your fears.

Pippa shook her head repeatedly. "No, I can- I can should it to you, prove that what I saw was real!"

She then grabbed her mother's hand and rushed outside, racing towards the forest. Though, when she got there, she froze, her mouth gaping open. There was nothing. No sounds. No floating lights. Not even the mist was there.

"I-I... I swear I saw it. It was right here. The lights. How...?" she stuttered. How? Where were they? She couldn't be crazy could she? It couldn't have been just adrenaline induced visions... or a figment of her imagination, could it?

Her mother sighed, looking at her daughter. She knew that her daughter was having a rough couple of weeks, but that such a thing could change her so? She just hoped her daughter would realise that magic did not exist before people would start to peg her for a nutter.

"Let's just go home and hope that someone found Lucy."

Oh, how could she have forgotten? Lucy! 'Oh, please be alright. Please,' Pippa prayed, hoping Lucy had simply gotten back home.

Only, she wasn't. Once they had returned home, they still yielded no success in finding a trace of the girl. It had only gotten worse. As Pippa's mother put on the television to see the evening's news, she got the unpleasant surprise of even more vanishings.

 _"And for the last piece of news this evening, we have yet another ten vanishings. Oh... is that so... sorry, I meant, eleven vanishings._

 _Eleven children, aged between five and twelve have vanished. Yet again, without so much as a trace. Three children from New York, two from Wyoming, one from Alaska, four from Pennsylvania and one from Louisiana. That totals to 33 child vanishing and all this happened in just a month! The governments of these countries are trying to search for the children, but so far none has been found._

 _If any of you watching the news sees any of these children, please contact us immediately using the telephone number shown below."_

Pictures and details of the children appeared on the screen and it was then she realised that all of the child vanishing in Pennsylvania happened in Burgess. She immediately recognised those freakishly familiar faces. Smiles that now seemed empty and hauntingly bright eyes. It was hard to believe that this _could_ happen in Burgess.

Children were vanishing all across the United States. But what if it wasn't just the United States? What if this was happening all around the world? And what if the same person was taking them? How could she convince anyone that maybe, maybe this was all linked, if even she doubted her crazy theory?

Pippa sighed. She had to do something about this. And there was only one person who would believe her. After all, she doubted the Guardians would believe her theory.

Her mother on the other hand, felt sceptical about this. After all, it could just be a coincidence that all the disappearances happened in a month. It wasn't exactly uncommon. After all, they could have just coincidentally been all kidnapped on the same days.

There was only one child whose safety she was worried about. Lucy.

 **[A/N - No, I do not own Rise of the Guardians, but I did make up that little rhyme. The news report along with most of this story remains fictional.]**


	4. Eerie Similarities

**Pitch's Revenge**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Eerie Similarities**

Looking back at the previous day, Jack could only feel pain. Perhaps it would be best if he forgot about Jamie, just like he had about him. Why be bothered by his former friend, when clearly, Jamie could not care less about him?

Jack sighed. No, he could not simply forget. After all, Jack Frost never forgets. Okay... so maybe there were a few times he had forgotten something in the past. But nothing was as important as the friendship of theirs had been to him. He just couldn't forget how often the two used to have fun in the snow, how they would sometimes prank others and laugh all day. He couldn't bear seeing his former believer and friend look so depressed.

Flying back to Jamie's house, he could not have known that worse troubles were brewing than he had previously thought.

"Sophie! Soph! Come back!" Jamie was calling out, looking afraid. Jack looked down, confused. The male brunette was searching everywhere, looking as though he had lost something. Had he... lost Sophie?

Jack looked around. Flying through Burgess, he too could not find any sign of Jamie's younger sister. Rushing back to make sure that at least Jamie was fine, he saw him sitting on the snow-covered ground... crying? Now, that wasn't very normal. But then again, he had a tough month. And it had gotten even worse now that Sophie had seemingly disappeared.

He gave Jamie one last glance, before realising that there was only one thing he could do for his friend. He would find Sophie and bring her back. And yes, he just admitted that he still wanted Jamie to be his friend, even if he couldn't see him. Even if he didn't believe.

As the wind lifted him once again, he resumed his search, flying past houses, until he came to a street, with several posters. Posters of lost children. All from Burgess.

He then saw Pippa posting another poster on a lamppost, looking just as afraid as Jamie had. Upon a closer inspection, the poster also had a lost child on it, but this one had ginger hair, not blond like Jamie's sister. She was also a girl, but younger. And from the poster, Jack read that her name was Lucy.

Landing beside Pippa, he tapped her shoulder. "I see you have the same problem as Jamie," he exclaimed. Pippa looked at him with a confused expression. Jack sighed. "Sophie has gone missing. I doubt Jamie knows how and I myself cannot find her."

Pippa nodded. "I-I... I searched everywhere for Lucy, but I couldn't find her. She disappeared yesterday afternoon."

Jack thought about it. "And Sophie must have disappeared in the morning. If they were kidnapped, why would someone kidnap them in broad daylight? I kind of feel the two disappearances are connected... but how?"

"I'm not sure, but I think I know a person who could help me... and maybe you, if you are willing to believe the two of us," Pippa replied, looking back at the poster, tears welling up in her eyes. "I... I just hope that they're alright."

As did he.

"You should have heard the news last night. Over this month, 33 kids in the United States have disappeared without a trace," she continued.

"One of them was my sister..." another voice piped. Both Jack and Pippa jumped, before turning around to see a small, brown-haired boy looking at them with sorrowful eyes. He might have been about six or seven years old.

"Oh... I am sorry about that," Pippa murmured sympathetically.

"Sh-she was with me when she got lost. We were playing by the pond. And then... she saw lights. I saw them too, but I felt scared to follow them because I thought the forest was haunted. I decided to stay. She called me a scardy cat. I wish I had gone with her. That was the last... the l-last time I s-saw her," and then he broke into a sob. Pippa caught him.

"It's going to be alright..." she reassured him.

"N-no... I haven't seen her for a week... n-not e-even daddy saw her... and h-he's a policeman," the boy cried, tears falling to the ground.

"Look, we'll try and help you find her, 'kay? You can count on me and Jack Frost to find her," she continued reassuring him, despite not being any more sure than he was. After all, the boy's sister had apparently been lost a week and not even the police had found her.

"A-as in... _The_ Jack Frost. The one that brings snow days?" the boy asked in disbelief.

"If you want to see him, believe in him," she just replied.

And all of the sudden, the boy looked at them both wide-eyed, his expression just the slightest bit happier. "He's real!" the boy gasped.

"Yup, that would be me," Jack said proudly. "Don't worry, we'll find your sister." The boy surprised him with a big hug. And for the first time, in a long time, he felt a lot happier himself.

As Jack and the boy (whose name was apparently Ben) spoke, Pippa realised that there was something eerily similar about the boy's case. Not only did his sister (emphasis on sister) disappear, but she had seen those lights and she had been in the same place as she herself had been when she saw them.

"Umm... did the two of you by any chance hear any sounds?" Pippa asked the boy.

The boy slowly nodded. "Like someone was singing a lullaby... b-but creepier," he whispered. "And the lights floated above ground."

Right. Another similarity. Those lights and that voice had something to do with those disappearances for sure. Maybe if she searched the forest she would find some clues. But for now, she had somewhere else to go.

"Okay. Maybe you should go home, I doubt staying here for too long will be safe," Pippa said, before looking in Jack direction. "Mind taking Ben home, I need to sort something out."

Jack simply nodded and took the boy home, whilst Pippa headed in the direction of one of her friends' house.

* * *

Her best friend, Liz, lived at the edge of Burgess, in a house similar to hers. She was a strange person, who loved books, nature, but scarcely talked to other humans. However, despite her slightly odd character, she was well-mannered and smart and always willing to help a friend. She was also good at solving mysteries. Despite being only sixteen she seemed to have a lot of talent.

Luckily for her, Liz was at home, making cupcakes. As she saw Pippa enter, she immediately opened the door, waving at her friend to come inside.

"Hello," she greeted her, with a small smile.

"Hi," Pippa greeted back, waving at her.

Liz lead her through the hallway and into the living room of her house. She then beckoned her to sit on the couch, before leaving to get the cupcakes she had left in the oven. Pippa could hear her close the oven door and the gentle clanking sound as the baking tray hit the kitchen table in the room next door to this one. Then, her best friend came back, holding two cupcakes.

"Pick one, then you can tell me what happened to make you look so worried," Liz exclaimed. Pippa felt taken aback. Was it that obvious? Still, she stood up, taking the cupcake in her left hand, before sitting back down. Liz smiled. "Shame, the one in my right hand had a strawberry filling."

Pippa pretended to be disappointed with her choice, but her act most likely failed anyway. "So, I came to ask you if you could help me solve a mystery," she explained, trying not to take too long at getting to the point.

"Well, that would explain why you came on a day that wasn't on the schedule," Liz joked. "I take it is a rather serious mystery."

Pippa nodded. "You see, Lucy went missing yesterday. She was gone and no one had seen where she had gone, or who she had gone with, despite this happen just after school," she began. Liz listened patiently, taking in the details. "So I went to find her, but she was... I couldn't find her at all. And today, a friend of mine was looking for his sister and couldn't find her either. Not to mention that a week ago, another girl went missing too."

Pippa watched as Liz's expression changed. Clearly, she was deep in thought. "I heard about that on the news last night," Liz mused out loud. "There were more vanishings, weren't there. But if we want to know for sure where to look, we would have to ask more people, preferably those who had more than one child. Siblings often now things that parents do not."

Yes, that was true. "The boy I saw today had a sister who disappeared. She vanished in the forest near that pond we used to skate on when we were younger. Apparently, the boy and his sister saw lights and heard voices. Actually, I've seen them too and heard those voices," Pippa added. Liz cocked her head to the side.

"Anything strange about that... like, more strange than usual?" Liz asked.

"Yes, those light floated above ground! And the voice was eerie and seemed to sing a creepy lullaby," Pippa exclaimed, shuddering a little at the memory. 'And here's to hoping that someone will believe me.'

"O-okay... that is strange," Liz agreed. "But before we start searching in that forest, you might want to ask more people. I've got a list of Burgess children that have vanished in the past month."

What? How could she have known that would come in handy? It seemed she always had something prepared. Pippa, staring at her in disbelief, was even more shocked when she realised how much data came with the names of Burgess children that had vanished.

Liz smiled, understanding her best friend's confusion. "Yes, I know, but when I heard about the first vanishing, I thought I might keep a note of it, just in case," she explained, handing her a sheet of paper with the key information about the lost children.

Pippa scanned them. Two of the children came from families with at least two children. This would help. All she would have to do is ask them about the forest and if they told her that they saw what she did, it would be a good enough proof for her to search that forest. Little did she know, her friend was already dead set on doing so.

"Mind speaking to the children yourself? I'm not a child expert," Liz asked. Pippa nodded, standing up.

"If you don't mind, I'll get to that right away," Pippa answered, before leaving. Liz sighed, glad to have time to search some more about those children on the internet. After all, there was often a lot more there than met the eye.

* * *

She had a feeling that these kidnappings were different to the ones she'd heard about before. Because unlike in all those previous kidnappings, this one would have a much darker reason... she was certain of that. And frankly, despite considering herself a logical and scientifically-based human being, she couldn't quite deny that this had nothing to do with humans.

Why? Well, her friend had once tried to persuade her that spirits existed. What if they did? And what if this was finally the proof.

Typing in 'floating lights' she found several results, one of which explained it could have well been will-o-wisps, although she wasn't quite sure that she should believe such childish notions. Then, she decided to search through different myths and legends. Though when she read through the information on them, she realised that, had any of these creatures really existed, they would definitely bring harm to these children. From ghouls to beasts, giants, and skeletons, things that she had long since forgotten.

It was when she found the word 'boogeyman' on one of the sites that she froze.

 _"You think he will come and give us nightmares again?" the ten-year-old Pippa from her memories asked, her lips quivering as she spoke. Hiding under the duvet, she looked at the six-year-old Liz._

 _"I don't think so, mum said he doesn't exist and mum is always right," Liz exclaimed, despite that being a lie. Her mother wasn't always right. She hugged the older girl. "And if the boogeyman existed, he would have to fight us! We have swords, remember?" she reminded her best friend, who slowly nodded._

 _Yes, they had a cardboard sword each. It seemed rather pathetic now, but when they were young, they loved them. She then switched on her flashlight._

 _"If someone comes, we'll see them," she added, smiling._

 _Pippa nodded. "I really don't want to have nightmares anymore!"_

 _"So long as we stand together, we can beat up that boogeyman of your's," Liz kept on reassuring her. "There's nothing he can do to us when we are together."_

As the memory ended, she realised that maybe, maybe Pippa had been right to worry.

Maybe her 'boogeyman' _did_ exist. It wasn't so outlandish now, considering the current situation that not only she but the entire world was finding themselves in. She came to wonder: what else was it that Pippa had claimed?

 _"You should have seen how Jack and the others fought! The boogeyman didn't stand a chance!" Pippa exclaimed excitedly, making hand gestures._

 _Again with her Guardians and all those other spirits. It puzzled Liz why the older girl still believed in them. Liz herself had never believed in fairy tales, she wasn't about to start now._

 _"Really?" she asked, a little skeptical._

 _"Uhuh, and then the cowards ran off. So much for being the boogeyman! He was scared of his own nightmares!" she added, laughing. "And you should have seen how Sandy managed to beat him up. And then he was dragged down into his lair by his own nightmares... brrr... wouldn't fancy that!"_

 _Yes, neither would she. That sounded a little cruel._

 _"But then again, he deserved it for giving children nightmares and because he made us forget about the Guardians. That was so mean! And now he's gone and I'm sure he won't be coming back anytime soon!"_

Only, that part was debatable. Sure, a decade wasn't a short period of time either and it may not even have been him, but if it were him and he was a spirit (so practically immortal in some ways) a decade would practically be a blink away. Besides, he might have done this for revenge. There were so many factors which would affect the behaviour and the doings of an individual, from genetics to their past.

Considering he must have been forgotten too. After that time during which Pippa spoke about the "Nightmare War", she never heard of the boogeyman again, despite her talking about the other spirits constantly.

She had heard, when they had spoken ten years ago, that he had been dragged down only a few metres from the pond. So, if something strange was going on, it could be this 'boogeyman's' fault. It seemed absurd to believe in such a possibility, but she had to at least see if there was a chance.

* * *

"Oh, quit your sobbing," a harsh voice echoed through the dark caverns, silencing the several crying children. As soon as silence took place, the kidnapper continued to speak. "Now, you might want to know why I bothered taking you here."

The children looked at each other, not wanting to hear reason. They just wanted to go home. Back to their families. Away from this awful, nightmare-infested prison.

"Take it as my revenge. You wish to deny my existence, you will pay for it. Though I am sure, you all know by now, that I do in fact exist," the voice continued, mocking them. Some quivered in fear at this, others protested loudly with moans and cries. Some sat still, either scared stupid or too tired to move or speak. A man stepped out of the shadows, making the children flinch as they saw him.

He looked nothing like a human to them; to those young children, he looked borderline terrifying.

"L-leave us be..." a meek voice whined. The man turned to see a small, blond girl, roughly twelve... maybe even thirteen, standing upright, with a defiant look on her face. Much to his disgust.

"Wish to rebel? Oh, yes, that makes it all the more fun to see you suffer," the man spoke, in an amused tone. The girl flinched, her bravery leaving her. As she backed away from him, she fell to the ground, looking away as she saw his evil, shark-toothed smile. He stepped up closer to her. "I take you wish to be the first then. Very well."

Conjuring up an arrow made of black sand, he didn't even wait for the girl to react, before aiming at her. As his grip disappeared from the arrow itself, the arrow bolted. It hit. Straight in the heart.

She screamed, loudly, clearly. Like false church bells.

The girl twitched, making the other children scream in fear, much to the man's joy. Against her will, a freakish transformation took place, one which chilled the very hearts of the young audience. Her nails grew sharper, longer, darker. Her skin began to turn somewhat grey and instead of pink, her attire was black. The girl let out a horrible screech, her hair going wild, spiking up, making her appear somewhat deranged; psychotic, even. The expression on her face grew twisted. Her lips twitched upwards, her mouth opened ever so slightly. To reveal a set of shark-like teeth. Her eyes brightened, their innocent hue shifting to bright red. Then, she finished her screeching and looked around, before facing the man.

"I want you to put the others into place. If they disobey, bring them to me," the man ordered, before glancing up at the other children, with a threatening promise. "Understood?"

The monster-girl slowly nodded, her eyes filled with a hungry expression.

Once she disappeared, the man smirked proudly to himself, his head tilted high, his gaze fixated on the gently swaying cages that hung from the ceiling of his lair. 'Jamie will pay for his mistake. After all, it isn't like he'll be seeing his sister today. Or ever again!'


End file.
